Giving up the fight

I was so relieved when I read that Lt. Governor Dan Patrick stated that "when you win the battle, you don't have to fight the battle again."

Although this statement was made in reference to the transgender bathroom law (which was a battle Patrick actually lost), it seems that the battle over abortion rights has been won (by pro-choice advocates in 1973 in Roe vs. Wade), the battle over civil rights was won (by anti-segregationists in 1954 in Brown vs. Board of Education), and use of torture has been outlawed (by U.S. Supreme Court in 2006), Patrick should be saying that these battles need not be fought again.

What Patrick really meant to say was that when his side on an issue loses, it is all right to continue the fight, but when the opposition side loses, they should give up the fight. If I am not mistaken, this is the very definition of hypocrisy.

Robert Franklin, Far North Dallas

Missing Herb

I will know when Herb Kelleher has truly left the building when Southwest Airlines renames its People Department as Human Resources.

Linda Lee Andujar, Irving

Print in a digital world

Re: "Morning News lays off 43 — Newspaper works to cut costs as it struggles with revenue declines," Tuesday Business story.

As a native Dallasite, I've been a subscriber for more than 55 years, and I have a growing concern about the future financial viability of The Dallas Morning News and all print newspapers in this digital world.

Honestly, I can't imagine getting up in the morning and not being able to retrieve the paper from my front porch and begin reading it with my first cup of coffee. Hometown newspapers are integral partners in their communities and fulfill a vitally important role, especially in the area of investigative reporting.

Anyone reading this letter is most likely already a subscriber, so in many respects I'll be preaching to the choir. What we subscribers can all do, though, is spread the word and encourage others to support and subscribe to their local newspapers, even if they sometimes disagree with what they read. When they do disagree, they should let the paper know how and why.

Fred R. Neary, Far North Dallas

Another take on DPS service

I had a very good experience regarding the Garland Mega Center. I took my son, who is disabled, to get his license renewal.

We arrived at 7 a.m. and there were about 100 people in line stretched around the corner of the building. After we had spent about 10 minutes in line, a state trooper pulled up and called a young lady who was in line just ahead of us over to talk. She told us the trooper said my son and I should go to the front door ahead of everyone else.

At the door, another trooper let us in and a lady inside took us to the testing area to be seated. She then got my son the first ticket for testing. At the testing station, there was another lady who used sign language to help my son. Thanks to these wonderful people, my son and I were out and going home at 7:50 a.m.

After reading negative comments about Department of Public Safety service in the paper recently, I had to respond.

James Wanderscheid, East Dallas

Waiting to become a citizen

Though likely few will care, given the current anti-immigrant sentiments seemingly in vogue in much of the U.S., the current waiting times for naturalization at all five of Texas' U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field offices (Houston, Dallas, Harlingen, San Antonio and El Paso) are among the longest in the country, running at over a year for all of them.

Compare this with other offices, such as Norfolk, Va. (eight months), Lawrence, Mass. (six months), or Greer, S.C. (five months), and it seems clear that Texas immigrants are getting shorted here. Is it too much to ask for USCIS to devote greater resources to one of the fastest-growing population centers in the country?

I applied in January of last year and had hopes of being able to vote in last year's elections, were my application to be approved. A year on, and I'm still waiting.

Simon Nash, Mineral Wells

Down on the Rio Grande

I have lived along the border for 30 years. My wife and I own a home in Brownsville that is a half-mile from the Rio Grande. We feel safe in our home because we are — the Rio Grande Valley is one of the safest regions in the nation.

Shutting down the government to force the American people to invest in more border security is at best silly politics, and, at worst, an irresponsible exercise of executive power that puts our entire nation at risk.

In the Rio Grande Valley, we have 60 miles of a border wall. The wall does not stop the smuggling of fentanyl or cocaine. Those drugs cross the bridges at our ports of entry in tractor-trailers and railway cars, mixed in with the billions of dollars of produce, electronics and other goods we import from Mexico.

Speaking as a taxpayer, as someone who sees the border wall every single day, we don't need any more of that. In terms of national security, things along the southern border are fine.

If, on the other hand, you would like to worry about something, I suggest looking toward the White House's kidnapping of our government services. This type of extortion is the real danger to our nation.

Michael Seifert, Brownsville

Give Creuzot a chance

Re: "Break law, pay the penalty" by Lynda Leake, Saturday Letters

Leake was correct in thinking that she may have interpreted District Attorney John Creuzot's comments too literally about keeping the poor out of prison.

Studies have shown that the poor are treated more harshly under the legal system than those better off, and race in particular is an issue. Anyone familiar with Creuzot's tenure as a judge will know that his diversionary program was successful in lowering incarceration rates, with no apparent risk to society.

I am not a lawyer, but it would appear that Creuzot is merely planning on upholding the Constitution, which in its 14th Amendment guarantees "equal protection of the laws" in the states. I very much look forward to his tenure as district attorney and encourage everyone to give him a chance at the reform that is long overdue.